Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions - 2014

Who is this site for?

This website is for the Global Game Jam. It is used to direct people to information about individual game jams around the world, to collaborate, and to get excited about the upcoming event. It is also used to upload, modify and archive games produced by GGJ participants for GGJ events. If you want to participate in the Game Jam, you will need to create an account and affiliate with a location – sign-up for site-creation will be available in mid-October 2014, and then individual jammers can start signing up in mid-November 2014. If you are a site manager (site registration usually opens in October), your account and instructions should be mailed to you by GGJ organizers.

What is a Game Jam?

The goal is to come together and make a video game, or non-digital game like a board game or card game. Participants rapidly prototype game designs and hopefully inject new ideas to help grow the game industry. We share a common theme and constraints. We ask participants to create a game from beginning to end in a prescribed time (maximum of 48 hours). The brief time span is meant to help encourage creative thinking to result in small but innovative and experimental games.

What is the Global Game Jam?

The GGJ brings together talented individuals from within your community. It is a unique opportunity for people to push their skills and challenge their way of working. Participants work concurrently with developers around the globe; we rally around a central theme, and then have 48 hours to create a game. It's our hope that we will see some very experimental realized prototypes that you can continue to work on after the jam. Many games developed in previous Game Jams have become fully realized games. The GGJ is open source, hardware & software agnostic and all projects are protected under a Creative Commons license. We encourage people to try out new ideas and push themselves, within reason. We also strongly encourage participants to remember to eat and sleep, to stay at their best!

When is the Global Game Jam?

The GGJ is an annual event. The 2014 GGJ will start at 5pm (in your time zone) on January 24th and goes for ~48 hours through January 26, 2014.

Do I need to come to GGJ with a team already formed?

Do not come to the Jam with a team. Everyone will have some time to think and pitch an idea. Collaborate with new friends or peers you admire.

Do I need special skills to participate in the GGJ?

Although having computer skills is helpful, code experience is not necessary. Designers, developers, artists and anyone is welcome to try their hand at making a game during the GGJ.

Is the GGJ only for professionals?

No. Everyone is welcome.

I am a participant at [insert local site] do I need to register on the global site?

Yes.

What is required to host a location (jam site)?

Physical space for the duration of the jam to comfortably seat participants (you can choose how small or large you want your event)

Reliable Internet access (either wired or wireless) for all participants

Access to common game development tools and/or ability to download and install software

Local IT support in case of problems with computers or internet connectivity

At least one local official organizer to coordinate the event *

Access to all space and computing resources around the clock over the weekend of the GGJ

Coffee and beverages & easy access to food

Optional auditorium space to do a post Jam presentation on Sunday of the Jam

Security (safeguard against theft of belongings)

* The organizer must be a part of all email correspondence, participate on BaseCamp (our project management software) and oblige us with meeting all due dates.

The GGJ will provide you with tools to organize your local event, hands-on guidance before & during the Global Game Jam, a web page on the GGJ site, local & international promotion etc… For more information on hosting a site, check the manual.

Why is the GGJ held often at many universities?

Schools have access to large labs and space that are not always available at studios. Educational institutions also have the best access to broadband Internet. But there is nothing exclusive about location types. Companies, Game collectives, community meetups and other types of venues are all welcome.

Day 3- WorkEssentials:09.00-10.00: Breakfast13.00-14.00: Lunch15.00-16.30: Deadline for handing in the games is 15.0016.30-19.00: Presentations – Each team has 10 minutes to do a short presentation

How do I log into the site?

You sign up on the site as an individual. Registration for jammers normally opens about November 15th. Create a new account or login using Facebook connect here.

How do I tell the system my location and full name information?

Every user must fill out a profile which is available from your account page. The profile asks for your full name and has a drop-down menu to choose your location. Additionally, you can write a public biography about yourself under "My account".

My Jam Site isn’t in the list of locations in my profile!

Locations are created by a site organizer. Talk to your site organizer (your local Jam organizer) and ask him/her to create the location. Once the location is created, you can fill out your profile and choose it.

I am the site organizer, how do I register my location?

Site registration usually opens in October. In the meantime, you may wish to read the manual to be prepared.

While registration is open, in order to list your location we need you to do the following:

2) once you get your email and sign-in to the page, Select "Jam Site 2014" from the Navigation menu on the top/right.

3) Follow the directions – fill out up-to-date and correct information. Make sure you understand and acknowledge your responsibilities as an organizer. You may come back and update the public details any time.

4) Once you fill out the application for a Jam Site, it will be processed and OK’d by GGJ and it may take a few days. The reason for this is to make sure we do not get duplicates for the same location, the organizers are responsible and understand GGJ values and responsibilites. We really are trying to push for community and collaboration and trying to avoid having multiple locations in the same vicinity. If you see that a location is already posted in your city, please contact us and we will try to help you collaborate with the other location. Note, many major urban areas will have more than one location. You can see a list of approved Jam sites if you click on the “Locations” icon at the top of the page, which goes to: http://globalgamejam.org/locations.

5) After your Jam Site is approved, go to your account page and update your profile (under “My account” → edit) and specify the Jam site. Please also direct all your local Jammers to make accounts and create profiles as well.

6) Once you've created a GGJ page for your site, you can use it to link to your own webpage for your site, or you can use GGJ website to handle your sign-ups, etc… Participant sign-ups usually open around November 15th or so. Even if you have your own webpage for signups, all of your jammers must register at globalgamejam.org as well, by the Saturday of the jam itself.

I am a site organizer, but my site page already exists on GGJ website. How can I gain access to it?

If there is already a 2014 Jam Site registered on the locations page, please get in touch with the site organizer to see how you can help or be involved. If your site was a participant in Global Game Jam in the past, a new 2014 Jam Site still needs to be created. Site registration normally opens in October.

I am a site organizer, how do I create team accounts?

There are no team accounts. Only individual accounts that are associated with location and game projects. All jammers and organizers must have them.

Who owns the intellectual property of games made during GGJ?

The team/makers of the game hold all IP rights. However, the Global Game Jam may use the games for demonstration as it sees fit. All games must be posted in the condition they are in as of the close of the GGJ event (Sunday). If the team/makers of the game wish to upload subsequent versions, they are welcome and we will host and archive them. All participants and all games entered for GGJ must agree to a Creative Commons, share, alter, no sell license.

Is there a cut-off date as to when we can join the Global Game Jam?

Site registration normally opens in October, and we encourage all sites to sign up by November 15th. After December 1, it may be more difficult to register. Because there is a fair amount of preparation needed to put together a jam, we think you should plan as far ahead as possible and register before December 1.

Liability

The Global Game Jam is supposed to be fun and collaborative, with a goal to keep things very simple. We provide structure, guidance and help for all locations participating in the GGJ. As a rule, we expect that no team/makers of a game will illegally exploit others' IP, and that in turn, everything created becomes part of the public domain. All participants agree that their participation in the Global Game Jam will hold no one liable for any loss or damage.

The Global Game Jam reserves the right to refuse to allow anyone or any jam location to participate at any time for any reason or no reason at all. This includes after the game jam has already started.

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"I can't make it to any of the Global Game Jam sites this year. Can I participate remotely from home?"

Remote participation is a topic that comes up every year. Should we support a "virtual" GGJ location for people who can't make it, or otherwise allow people to host a "site" that's just them in their basement? People always ask, and we always discuss, and we always come to the same answer.

Participating in GGJ from home is sort of like listening to a tape recording of a concert. Yes, you can get the general idea, but it isn't even CLOSE to the experience of being there in person. It is not uncommon for a group of determined jammers to cross state or country lines, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles, to reach a jam site. These experiences are awesome to hear about, and the GGJ would be less special if they didn't happen. And let's be honest, if it were too easy to just participate from home, far too many people would use that as an excuse to not show up to a site. And the GGJ experience would be far poorer for it. So, we do actively discourage this practice. Make the effort to get to a site. Trust us, you'll be glad you did.

"But the nearest site is too far away / I don't have any way to get there / all the sites near me all full already / I'm sick in bed / the dog ate my development laptop / some other perfectly legitimate reason. Is there any way I can be part of this event?"

Yes, absolutely! First, if you really do have a legitimate reason why you can't get to your nearest site, you can at least contact the site organizer by email and explain the situation. Some local organizers will allow remote jammers in extreme locations; you'd be counted as being "part of" their site, and that organizer would take personal responsibility for including you as if you were on site. Because this is a bit of extra organizational work that primarily benefits you more than the site, we leave this up to the discretion of the individual hosts. So ask nicely, and be gracious even if they say no. (If the site near you is full and not accepting further registrations, you can still email the host and nicely ask if you can show up anyway. No-shows are common, and some hosts might allow you to sneak in and take the place of someone else who registered but never showed up.)

Second, watch Twitter during the event. Send out a tweet using an appropriate hashtag, saying that you are volunteering to do some extra work (playtesting, art, audio, or whatever) for any team that needs your services. With thousands of teams participating, at least one of them may take you up on the offer. You can also hop into the global IRC chat and do the same.

Third, you can participate after the fact by downloading the games and leaving thoughtful comments, feedback, and encouragement for the developers and other future visitors.

Fourth, once we broadcast the theme and diversifiers publicly (we do this once the people in the final time zone have started work), there's nothing stopping you from just jamming on your own from home, just for fun. Sure, you're not part of a team, and you won't be able to upload your game to the GGJ website... but you're already missing out on a large part of the experience anyway, so this shouldn't be a huge disaster for you.

For next year (and beyond) there are many things you can do. If the site near you was full, then next year mark your calendar and sign up earlier - we typically open registration in November, so often all it takes is not waiting too long. If there is no site near you, consider becoming a site organizer yourself, and make your own site! All you need is physical space, electricity, a couple of participants and a desire to help out. Site registrations typically open in October, so watch our website around that time for the big announcement. If you only found out about GGJ a few days before the event and it was too late to do anything this year, then now you're forewarned and you'll have plenty of time to prepare for next year. Or, if you want to jam on your own from home because that's your personal preference, there are other wonderful events that actively encourage you to do so (the largest being Ludum Dare) and we would encourage you to give those a try.

Game design tips

How can I make my game accessible to gamers with disabilities?

Over 20% of gamers have some kind of impairment that may affect their ability to play a game. Avoiding the barriers they face not only means more players, it also makes a real difference to people's quality of life. Independent access to recreation, culture and socialising may not be easily available, and games can provide that.

There are four main types of impairment. Considerations for them range in complexity and not all are appropriate to all game mechanics. but whichever one/s you choose to design for, there's a huge opportunity for innovation, new approaches that haven't been tried before.